Italy

Rome elects right-wing Alemanno as mayor

Article published on the 2008-04-28 Latest update 2008-04-29 08:54 TU

The Italian capital swings to the right just weeks after Silvio Berlusconi won the country's legislative elections. After a surprisingly strong showing in the first round of the city elections, the "tough on crime" candidate Gianno Alemanno defeated his left-wing opponent, Francesco Rutelli, by seven per cent.

Gianno Alemanno was today elected mayor of Rome with 53.7 per cent of the vote. This brings to an end decades of left-wing dominance in the Italian capital. Alemanno defeated Francesco Rutelli of the Partito Democratico (PD), which lost with only 46.3 per cent of the poll.

Alemanno's victory comes just weeks after Silvio Berlusconi claimed victory in the legislative elections. Rome's new mayor said Monday evening that he would be the mayor "of all Romans" and that the dominance of the left has “disappeared".

In his election campaign Alemanno had emphasized public order and immigration, vowing to deport 20,000 immigrants with criminal records.

He previously served in Berlusconi's cabinet as Minister for Agriculture, from 2001 to 2006. He ran for mayor in 2006, losing to then mayor, Walter Veltroni.

His left-wing opponent, Francesco Rutelli, was closely associated with unpopular outgoing Prime Minister Romano Prodi. Rutelli’s defeat comes as a surprise since he led Alemanno during the first-round vote, 45 per cent to 40 per cent.

Alemanno came to politics via the neo-fascist Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI) although he decided to reject the support of the extreme-right party La Destra during this mayoral campaign.